415: Four people behind the scenes

The office light was dim, with sunlight casting only a few long, narrow shadows on the floor.

Tang Shan sat upright in the chair opposite, his back ramrod straight, his gaze fixed on the blurred figure behind the desk, his tone a mix of respectful nervousness.

"How did things go?"

The person behind the desk spoke, his voice filtered through an invisible barrier, devoid of much emotion, yet carrying an undeniable authority.

"I've already reminded Liteli as you instructed."

Tang Shan quickly bowed slightly, his voice steady but unable to hide a hint of deliberate flattery.

"He was quite sensible and took full responsibility for the Kolos Star incident. From the current investigation, merely forging reports and accepting bribes would at least result in a life sentence; with worse luck, he might even be sentenced to death."

The person behind the desk was silent for a moment, his fingertips lightly tapping on the smooth surface, producing a rhythmic sound.

After a long while, he slowly said,

"A death sentence is unnecessary. Tell him I will find a way to ensure he only receives a life sentence at most."

"Yes!"

Tang Shan immediately responded.

"What about Li Yang's side?"

The other party changed the subject and asked,

"He hasn't continued to investigate further, has he?"

"There haven't been any large-scale actions for now."

Tang Shan recalled recent movements.

"After Liteli was apprehended, he only had people investigate some peripheral information, such as Liteli's financial transactions and family contacts. These were all small-scale investigations, and he didn't dare to touch the core approval chain."

"Small-scale investigations?"

The person behind the desk chuckled, a hint of amusement in his laughter.

"That certainly fits Secretary Li's personality; he's very cautious."

He paused, and the tapping of his fingertips stopped.

"Let him be."

The person behind the desk casually twirled a pen between his fingers.

"But don't be careless. Li Yang may seem gentle, but he's more stubborn than anyone. Give him one flaw, and he'll gnaw a big hole in it. Tell those below to tighten their tails, especially those leftover accounts; make sure they are handled cleanly."

"If any more loose ends are found later, just follow the old rules—find someone to push out and take the blame."

"Yes!"

Tang Shan bowed in response, not daring to ask another question.

He knew these "old rules" all too well; every time a storm subsided, a "scapegoat" would be pushed to the forefront, while the real big fish always remained hidden beneath the surface.

After Tang Shan left, silence returned to the office. The person behind the desk slowly raised his head, and the last rays of sunlight from outside the window fell perfectly on his face. He looked at the document on the desk, a cold light flashing in his eyes... Inside the courtroom of This Galaxy Cluster's Supreme Court, the atmosphere was solemn and grave.

When the Chief Justice struck the gavel and announced, "Liteli is sentenced to life imprisonment and deprived of political rights for life due to multiple counts of official misconduct," Liteli, in the defendant's box, merely lowered his head slowly.

There was no anticipated emotional Refutation, nor any unwilling roar—he knew better than anyone that this outcome was the greatest "mercy" "above" could offer. Compared to his companions who frequently disappeared, being able to save his life was a great fortune.

When the Guard Division stepped forward to escort him away, he even calmly raised his eyes, looking towards a corner of the spectator area, as if silently conveying something.

When the news reached Li Yang, he was gazing out at the star chart outside the window, lost in thought.

His fingertips traced the words "life imprisonment" on the light screen, his brows slightly furrowed—according to Imperial law, forging an A-grade safety report leading to a major accident and involving massive bribery usually warranted a death sentence. This verdict seemed a bit too "merciful."

A moment later, Li Yang got up and went to the Supreme Court, walking directly into An Cheng's office.

Chief Judge An, as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was frowning over a stack of case files. Seeing Li Yang enter, he put down his work.

"A rare visitor. What brings you here today?"

"I want to ask about Liteli's case."

Li Yang went straight to the point, his gaze falling on the documents on Chief Judge An's desk.

"Which judge presided over his trial?"

Chief Judge An understood Li Yang's underlying meaning instantly, and the relaxed expression on his face faded slightly.

"Deputy Presiding Judge Jiang Xin was in charge. She has been at the court for nearly 50 years and has always been meticulous in her case handling. Logically speaking..."

He paused and shook his head.

"There shouldn't be any problems, right?"

"Logically speaking?"

Li Yang retorted, a hint of imperceptible sharpness in his tone.

"The Kolos Planet accident killed tens of thousands of Imperial Citizens, and the losses are immeasurable. Liteli took responsibility for the entire accident but was only sentenced to life imprisonment. Do you think that's reasonable?"

Chief Judge An fell silent. He picked up Liteli's verdict and his fingertips traced the page outlining the sentencing basis. Indeed, as Li Yang said, the crucial "severity of accident consequences" was lightly glossed over, while the mitigating factors of "voluntarily pleading guilty and cooperating with the investigation" were heavily emphasized.

This was uncommon in similar cases in the past.

"I'll have someone pull up the trial records and Jiang Xin's deliberation notes."

Chief Judge An's tone became serious.

"If there really is a problem..."

"It's not 'if'."

Li Yang interrupted him, his eyes darkening.

"Liteli's swift confession indicates the Discipline Inspection Commission's involvement. Now, with a lenient sentence, it's hard not to suspect they have people in the court as well. Chief Judge An, this game is bigger than we imagined; even the judicial system might have been infiltrated."

Chief Judge An's face became completely grave. He looked at Li Yang and slowly nodded.

However, he had also known Jiang Xin for a long time. Although she was a woman, she had not made a single wrong judgment in all the cases, big and small, over the years, and her conduct did not seem problematic.

After all, this accident involved the deaths of tens of thousands of Imperial Citizens, and although the accident outwardly ended as an accident.

It should still have been handled with a death sentence.

"Secretary Li, perhaps you are overthinking it? I have also reviewed Liteli's case files and crimes. He should indeed be sentenced to death, but life imprisonment is not considered a wrongful conviction."

Chief Judge An still did not believe that Jiang Xin, who had worked with him for so long, would be a corrupt element hidden in This Galaxy Cluster.

"I hope so, but I still hope you can keep a close eye on her."

Seeing Chief Judge An say this, Li Yang found it difficult to continue.

"Alright, I understand your concerns, and I will keep a close eye on her."

"Then I thank Chief Judge An."

...More than a month had passed since Liteli's case was settled.

During this period, the Discipline Inspection Commission's investigation seemed to gradually calm down, with fewer and fewer public actions—the frequency of interviews decreased, and the progress reports released were mostly boilerplate "routine checks." Even the inter-departmental cooperation documents circulated internally hinted at a "wrap-up."

Anyone with a discerning eye would think that this storm was probably over.

But all of this was merely a meticulously laid illusion by Li Yang.

The real investigation, far from slackening, had instead woven a denser web in the shadows, and the person holding the ropes was Xia Quan.

For over a month, Xia Quan had practically lived in his office.

His desk was piled with data flow reports, and the star maps and character relationship chains on the light screen flickered day and night.

With the highest authority granted by Li Yang, he was like a master key—the encrypted database of This Galaxy Cluster's administrative center was open to him. Communication records, financial flows, personnel appointments and dismissals, and even surveillance footage of interstellar routes from various departments could all be retrieved and meticulously screened by him.

Through countless nights, he repeatedly deduced, facing the flickering code and overlapping trajectory maps on the screen, gradually connecting seemingly isolated events.

The unexplained flow of star coins in Liteli's account, Tang Shan's secret communication with a certain starship manufacturer, the registration information of the private club Jiang Xin visited before the trial... Finally, after countless times of overturning original hypotheses, a clear lead surfaced.

Early this morning, Xia Quan, with bloodshot eyes, placed an encrypted report in front of Li Yang.

His voice was hoarse from days of sleeplessness, yet it carried an undeniable gravity.

"Secretary Li, the investigation has yielded results."

Li Yang looked up, and seeing the certainty hidden in the bloodshot eyes, his heart stirred, and he quickly put down the documents in his hand.

"Is that so?"

"Over the past month, I've cross-referenced the final destinations of all abnormal funds from the last three years and cross-checked the communication records of twenty-seven key personnel nodes."

Xia Quan opened the encrypted report, projected it, and, looking at the chain of evidence on it, spoke with conviction.

"All clues ultimately point here. The permission logs show multiple high-privilege operations covering up these traces, and the encryption keys for the operation records can only be invoked by these individuals."

Hearing this, Li Yang suddenly sprang from his chair, his eagerness almost overflowing from his eyes.

Xia Quan immediately stepped forward and handed over the heavy investigation report.

Li Yang took the report, pressed his finger lightly on the unlock area, and a holographic light screen instantly unfolded, a dense list spreading before his eyes.

Initially, his gaze held a hint of anticipation, but as he scanned the top few names, the excitement on his face suddenly faded, replaced by a heavy gloom, and even his eyes were cold as if tempered with ice.

"Vice Chairman Wang Wen of the Administrative Center... Deputy Presiding Judge Jiang Xin of This Galaxy Cluster Imperial Court... Deputy Commander Yao Qiao of the stationed Guard Division... Director Zhang Yuan of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision."

He read each name deliberately, and with each name, the pressure from his fingertips increased, causing the halo at the edge of the light screen to tremble slightly from his force.

And this Deputy Commander of the stationed Guard Division was also newly appointed during the crackdown. The original Deputy Commander Si Nan was transferred to another Galaxy.

These were just the four most significant leaders at the top of the list.

Scrolling further down, the dense list of names was shocking—from directors and team leaders of various departments, to judges of grassroots courts, specialists in the supervision system, and even middle managers in the prison system, anyone with a name or real power within the system was implicated, totaling several hundred people.

These people formed an invisible web, silently covering all areas of the entire administrative center, from judicial trials to armed guards, from disciplinary supervision to prison management, with almost no blind spots.

Li Yang stared at the interwoven relationship lines on the light screen, feeling a chill run up his spine—this was not the corruption of a few individuals, but clearly a tumor that had parasitized the entire system, deeply rooted and entrenched.

He abruptly closed the report, his knuckles white from the force, his voice carrying an unsuppressable rage.

"Good, very good! I really didn't expect their reach to extend so far!"

"Xia Quan, is this investigation report... truly accurate?"

Li Yang's fingers hovered over the report, not yet landing.

He took a deep breath, his fingertips trembling slightly—if the contents of the report were confirmed, the entire administrative system of This Galaxy Cluster would likely face a thorough storm, with implications so vast that it would not be easily shaken.

Xia Quan's eyes were harder than steel, his words ringing with conviction.

"Secretary Li, I stake my life on it; every word, every record, can withstand the most rigorous scrutiny!"

Saying that, he handed over another encrypted document.

"Here are more detailed related materials; all their vested interests are within."

Li Yang quickly connected to his terminal, and the light screen instantly expanded, covered with dense text and charts—amounting to over a million words.

He slid his fingertips, examining each item closely, his brows furrowing tighter with each read.

For example, Tang Shan, Deputy Director of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision, was clearly written about in the report.

In his election vote that year, all members with voting rights on the list unanimously cast affirmative votes, which appeared compliant. However, behind it lay a series of secret exchanges of interests—those who voted were all part of the same group, tacitly understanding each other, using the guise of "compliance" to hide the reality of backroom dealings.

Scrolling further down, almost every implicated official followed a similar logic.

On the surface, the procedures were flawless, but underneath, a web of favors, leverage, and interests was woven. Even more shocking was the flow of funds—several large sums marked as "official expenses" ultimately flowed into private accounts.

Some seemingly reasonable project allocations actually became tools for them to divide profits, with every transaction bearing traces of meticulous falsification.

Li Yang stared at the intertwined lines of interest on the screen, a chill running down his spine.

He turned off the light screen, pressing his fingertips to his forehead, his voice heavy with an uncontrollable weight.

"It seems... this storm cannot be avoided."

Seeing this, Li Yang heavily tapped the desktop with his fingertips, clearly understanding that the breadth and high-level involvement of this matter had already exceeded his scope for independent decision-making.

He looked up at Xia Quan, his tone carrying an undeniable decisiveness.

"Immediately notify Chairman Ou, Chief Judge An, and Division Commander Wei to assemble in Conference Room Three within ten minutes. Tell them there's an urgent matter to discuss."

"Yes!"

Xia Quan responded, and as he turned and quickly left, his footsteps carried a tense rhythm... In just ten minutes, the conference room door was opened successively.

Division Commander Wei had just rushed from the training ground, his combat uniform sleeves still rolled up, a hint of travel-worn confusion on his face. As soon as he entered, he asked directly,

"Secretary Li, what's this urgent matter?"

He was responsible for Galaxy defense and was always straightforward, clearly bewildered by Li Yang's sudden summons.

Chairman Ou and Chief Judge An, however, looked grave. The two exchanged glances, both seeing seriousness in each other's eyes.